Many in hospitality feel that new government policies to cut migration prioritise political calculation over economic realism, The Guardian reports.
The minimum salary requirement for a skilled worker visa will increase from £26,200 to £38,700 from April 2024, a threshold that will also apply to British citizens bringing family members to the UK starting in 2025.
These policies could have a “chilling” effect on the industry following the economic turbulence of the past few years, and were introduced without consultation with the industry, according to UKHospitality.
Migrants account for about 15% of the sector’s workforce, which has a vacancy rate of 8%, rising to 10% for head chefs and 21% for production chefs. Shortages are more acute in sparsely populated areas.
The Guardian reports that closures linked to staff shortages cost restaurant group Gusto Italian £750,000 in 2022. The chain’s Edinburgh venue was forced to leave pizza off its menu due to a lack of staff.
“The fringe is our busiest month in Edinburgh but we had to close two days a week and couldn’t sell pizza,” says Gusto’s chief executive, Matt Snell. “Pizza chef is a skilled job and we could not find one. Our sales were a third of what they would normally have been.”
Over the last 18 months, Gusto has recruited over 30 chefs and spent over £200,000 on temporary visas for them through the government’s skilled worker visa scheme.
UKHospitality has written to the Home Office with its concerns, pointing out that 95% of the 8,500 migrant workers recruited last year would be ineligible for a visa under new salary thresholds.
